CHICAGO — Prosecutors in Wisconsin assert that Gov. Scott Walker was part of an elaborate effort to illegally coordinate fund-raising and spending between his campaign and conservative groups during efforts to recall him and several state senators two years ago, according to court filings unsealed Thursday.
The allegations by five county district attorneys, released as part of a federal lawsuit over the investigation into Mr. Walker, suggest that some of the governor’s top campaign aides directed the political spending of the outside groups, most of them nonprofits, and in effect controlled some of them.
The documents made public on Thursday threatened to cloud the political prospects of Mr. Walker, who is seeking election to a second term this fall and is mentioned as a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2016. They provided a rare view of the inner workings of a far-flung network of conservative nonprofit groups that have come to play a decisive role in national and state elections, secretly moving hundreds of millions of dollars into campaigns by avoiding traditional political action committees, which typically face tougher disclosure requirements.
These court documents detail a secret investigation into whether Gov. Scott Walker and his campaign illegally coordinated fund-raising with 12 conservative groups during efforts to recall him in 2012.
Prosecutors say Mr. Walker and his aides violated Wisconsin donation limits and disclosure rules by supervising a blitz of political spending by other organizations that could accept unlimited secret donations, including money from corporations.
This has been a very long time coming. Let’s hope, now that prosecutors are using the strongest language yet in their characterization of this investigation, that charges will be made well-before voters go to the polls.
Governor Walker has gotten away with way too much. He and his accomplices need to be exposed so voters everywhere see the direct correlation between corporate speech as money in politics and the complete corruption of our government.
My reply to a reader:
Michael,
The facts will be revealed in court. No corrupt judge that was installed by the Walker administration will stop a trial from taking place.
For those who don’t remember, we still have the audio of Scott Walker on the phone when he thought he was talking to David Koch. You can listen to the audio here and judge for yourselves.
